the Harajuku District and Harajuku Fashion

I guess it's Harajuku week!
It wasn't intended, but here we are, I guess!

The Harajuku District is a district in Tokyo, Japan, known for being the center of Japanese fashion and Japanese youth culture. Takeshita Street, or Takeshita Dori, is the street that is lined with the most shops, thrift stores, boutiques, and food stores, and is the focus of the Harajuku District.

Harajuku has shops for every type of fashion under the sun, from Mori (forest inspired clothing),to Goth, to Lolita, to Visual Kei, to Fairy Kei, to Gyaru, to Decora. Harajuku has shops for all kinds of extravagant and alternative styles.

Originally a village for samurai, Harajuku's history in fashion began after WWII, during this Allied occupation of Japan. During the occupation American and other foreign soldiers lived in army barracks in the Harajuku District. Shops that appeal to the Westerners in the area were opened.

Japanese youth were very curious about these foreign peoples and their cultures, so they would come to look at the western goods that were in Harajuku at the time. Fashion designers eventually realized that they could capitalize on this curiosity and the area, and opened up shops in Harajuku.

The off-brand misfits shirt is really cracking me up...

Then, the Olympic Games came to Japan in 1964, and the Athletes were housed in the former army 
barracks, which drew large crowds to the Harajuku district, which made business boom in the shops that were already there. This made designers and shop owners interested in the area. In 1978, a mall was opened, and by this time Harajuku was the ideal place for fashion businesses and designers to be.

Ever since the 1970's, Harajuku and its fashion have been steadily growing. Harajuku is home to many different styles, and the origin to loads of street styles. Many of the styles have escaped Japan, and spread to the US, much of Europe, and other countries.

Harajuku fashion seems to put an emphasis on bright colours and accessorizing, but other fashions such as Goth and Mori are popular, despite not following the "brightly coloured" trend.

Have a great weekend and, as always, creep it real!

Si

 

Gothic Quotes

Does Lolita Fashion Promote Pedophilia?

TW for pedophilia, sexualization of children, and child sexual assault mentions in the following post. Read at your own risk.

 

Lolita is a controversial novel by Russian author Vladimir Nabokov. Lolita was published in 1955 and is about a middle-aged professor named Humbert Humbert becoming obsessed with and sexually fantasizing about his landlord's 12-year old daughter, Dolores (whom he nicknames Lolita). He becomes "sexually involved" with Lolita after he marries her mother. After Lolita's mother dies by being hit by a car during an argument with Humbert, Humbert takes Lolita from her boarding school and has to bribe her and manipulate her to stop her from going to the police. During this time, Humbert also bribes Lolita with candy and fun events for sexual favors. Eventually, Lolita runs away from Humbert and gets married to another man who knows nothing about her past. He spends years looking for her, but when he finds her, she is 17,  pregnant, and in need of money. Humbert gives her the money, and leaves her alone.

So what does Lolita fashion have to do with the novel? And does it promote pedophilia? Based on the name of the fashion style sharing a name with the novel, one could make snap judgments and say "of course!", but I'm here to discuss both sides of the argument.

Firstly, the name has not been confirmed to have a connection with Nabokov's novel- but where else could the name have come from? The women who wear Lolita fashion, particularly Sweet Lolita,  are often expected to act sweet, childlike, and girlish. The makeup of many Lolita people is used to accentuate or imitate a young child's features- lots of blush, circle lenses to make the eyes look bigger, et cetera. The clothing is modeled after Victorian clothing, and the patterns are often modeled after children's and nursery wallpaper, featuring cute designs such as unicorns, food, children's toys, and more.

But is it necessarily wrong for women to wear a pink fluffy skirt with teddy bears on it? Just because we affiliate this style with children, does it mean that the people who wear this style are sexualizing it, and in turn, children?

There is an active portion of the Lolita community that does sexualize this, and there are plenty of people who find something about Lolita inherently sexual, and find the childlike act and clothing attractive. The things we see and are surrounded by are what helps us form opinions. If we're taught that grown women doing things commonly linked with children is sexy- we'll accept it. Which can be disturbing, because after we see that, we've made that connection- things that are associated with children = sexy.This does perpetuate the idea that something about children is attractive- and that's incredibly problematic. Plenty of people are able to discern that there is a difference between grown women and children doing something; but a large enough group isn't able to discern this. This is where the issues lie.


But, those people aren't the majority. Sometimes people just want to wear pink fluffy skirts and pastels and look cute. For a lot of people, Lolita has nothing to do with children. People just want to feel like princesses, or dress up with frills and feel decadent. There is nothing wrong with looking or wanting to look cute. The issue lies in associating Lolita fashion with children and sex simultaneously.

If members of the Lolita community can work to divorce the idea of their fashion with children, I believe there would no longer be an issue. I encourage members of the Lolita subculture to think hard about their clothing choices and activities, and think deeply about the consequences of affiliating with things linked with children when they are an adult with the ability to consent.

Creep it real!

Si

Vocabulary: Lolita Fashion

A group of Sweet Lolitas

 

Classic Lolita

Brief History of Lolita

Lolita is a fashion subculture that originated in Japan, specifically Harajuku with brands such as Angelic Pretty and Milk. Lolita fashion takes its inspiration from Victorian and Rococo eras and aims to be fanciful, fluffy, and elegant.

The name of Lolita does not have any known roots but it shares its name with the novel by the same name by Vladimir Nabokov. There is no known connection between the two, though.

Gothic Lolita

Lolita is thought to begin in the 1970's, popularized in the 1990's, partly as the more "feminine" counterpart of Visual Kei, along with Fairy Kei.

There are many subdivisions of Lolita, including Sweet Lolita, Gothic Lolita, Classic Lolita, and more.

Sweet Lolitas wear pastel clothing inspired by sweets and cute patterns. The goal of Sweet Lolita is to look as cute and, as the name implies, sweet! Sweet Lolitas'  skirts are often shorter than those of Gothic Lolitas and Classic Lolis, their skirts stopping at or above the knee. This style is closest to fairy kei out of all subdivisions of Lolita.

Gothic Lolitas often wear styles similar to those that goths wear; usually black, spooky, lacy, Victorian-inspired outfits.

Classic Lolita is the most Victorian-inspired of the substyles of Lolita. It is often seen as the more "mature" version of the other styles of Lolita, due to the more toned-down colors and elegant fashion. (but I feel as though this is a bit of a bash on the other styles of Lolita!)

Many Lolitas buy their outfits- generally called "coords"; but due to the clothing often being expensive due to the elaborate stitching, pleating, and whatnot, but many also sew their own coords, and even sell them.

Creep it real!

Si

 

Alternative Fashion & Mental Health

Collaboration with Abbi!

With the slew of articles linking depression, self harm, and Goth fashion, one has to ask- why?

A study of 2,300 british teens conducted by Oxford University found that 15 year olds “who identified as a Goth were 27% more likely to have depression at 18 years” than their peers. This blew up the media- but the results were inconclusive. The research could not prove that goth is at fault for the mental health issues of teens, but many articles and concerned parents seemed to ignore the fact that the link between might be muddled- it could be peer contagion, or a preexisting disorder. "I was depressed and ill before I was a goth" Nattalie Richardson, 29, said in response to the idea that goth leads to depression and self harm.

 

The researchers did not specify that depression was causing kids to join the goth subculture, or if the goth subculture was causing their depression. The teens could be attracted to the goth community for a sense of solidarity and comfort, as “the Goth community is traditionally very accepting of marginalized individuals”. It could be that “youths who feel isolated from mainstream society are attracted to this particular group, and may indeed gain support and help through being part of this subculture,” Lucy Bowes, researcher for Oxford University said. "Teenagers who are susceptible to depression or with a tendency to self-harm may be attracted to the goth subculture which is known to embrace marginalized individuals," said Rebecca Pearson from the University of Bristol in Britain. Those who identified as goth had a family history of depression, have been bullied, or have behavioral and emotional problems already. There is no way to prove that if the individual would not have developed depression by 18 years old if they had not been a part of the goth community, but nonetheless, goth teens were three times more likely to be depressed than other, “normal” teens.



Still, researchers say that parents should not try to stop their children from being part of a goth group or being goth, because belonging to a group and having friends provides solidarity and comfort to depressed teens.

“Parents whose children identify with the Goth subculture need not be concerned,” Bowes said. “The majority of teenagers identifying as a Goth in our study were not depressed and did not self-harm.”

Is correlation causation? Should parents of young goths be concerned?

How To Get Alternative Clothes Without Breaking the Bank

So, I'm seventeen years old and I don't have a license, a car or a job. (I know, I'm a deadbeat) Sometimes I feed my neighbors' cats while they're away? That's kind of a job, right? (It's not.) But anyway, I don't have a stable source of income, so I can't really afford extravagant clothes and $50 shoes from dollskill or killstar or etsy or whichever alternative fashion websites are around these days.

So how do I dress the way I want to with the little money I have?

Image from the Garment District's website

First of all: Thrift stores. Lots and lots of thrift stores.
I go to thrift stores and I pick up anything I like and everything black, meshy, lacy, etc.
Most of my favorite clothes are from thrift shops, they're where you can find really unique and vintage clothing that isn't for sale anymore anywhere else.

If anyone lives in the Boston area, my favorite thrift shop is called The Garment District in Cambridge, and they have a huge pile of clothes that you can pick whatever you like out of, and clothes are $2 per pound, or $1 per pound on Fridays! They're also connected to Boston Costume, which also has costume clothing (read: goth year round clothing) such as fishnet sleeves, bone tights, and more. They also sell manic panic, if that floats anyone's hair dye boat.

Secondly: Online!
Ebay, Amazon, and SheIn honestly have some cool and cheap clothes, especially things meant for costumes that are available year round. Look online for wholesalers, too!

Third: Costume and Halloween stores!
Now is the perfect time of year for someone like me to get new outfit pieces.
One of my favorite necklaces (blood necklace, anyone?) is party city couture. The only problem with this is that it's seasonally based, and the clothes have that... Cheap plasticy smell. And aren't very good quality. And the jewelry will turn you green. And the earrings will probably give you an infection, so avoid that. But if your fishnets get holes in them, you'll just look edgier, so give it a shot!

Lastly: Do it yourself!
Never underestimate the power of the DIY. You can dye white clothes black or purple, cut the sleeves off things, spraypaint designs onto your clothes, the world is your oyster!
I'm currently working on a project where I'm cutting the back out of one of my t-shirts and replacing the back with lace from an old skirt my art teacher gave me. This is one of my favorite methods, it's loads of fun and you end up with a unique garment in the end! It's awesome!

There are also tons of videos on goth and punk DIY-ing on youtube including these two by one of my favorite youtubers. (Warning: videos may contain curse words, and are pretty long!)

Creep it real!

Si

PWR BTTM concert in Portsmouth!

PWR BTTM

This is a more personal post than my other ones have been, about my concert experience this past weekend.

So, this past weekend I went to a concert for one of my favorite bands, PWR BTTM!
PWR BTTM's members are Liv Bruce and Ben Hopkins, and they identify the band as "queer punk", which is exactly what I need in my life. Both Hopkins and Bruce are nonbinary and use they/them pronouns, and write about gender identity and being gay.
I went with my friend Katie and my date-people to Portsmouth, NH; decked out in glitter, emulating Hopkins' signature look.


I still can't get the glitter out of my hair.

My friends and I somehow found our way to the front of the crowd, big X's marking our hands.
Then, Q turned to me and said "Oh, my god, Liv is running the merch table!"
I immediately started hyperventilating, because I may or may not have the biggest celebrity crush on Liv Bruce that the world has ever known.

who wouldn't have a crush on Liv, honestly. Just look at them.

After I stopped hyperventilating (actually, that's a lie, I just was hyperventilating less) we went in groups of two (to keep our spot in the front claimed) to buy things... And to see the ethereal being that is Liv Bruce, in the flesh.
After fumbling to buy things and just generally making a fool of myself in front of Liv - who somehow looks better in real life- they asked us if we wanted to take a selfie.


You can tell Katie was REALLY excited to see Ben.

They took the picture, and Ben jumped in last second, wearing no makeup (a shock), and told us we all looked cute and gave us hugs. Which was amazing. I'm still excited about it.
I then applied glitter to complete strangers, which was fun.

Then, the actual concert happened. There were 4 bands playing, PWR BTTM was on last, preceded by Tancred, Lisa Prank, and Bellows, who were all really great musicians (as well as sweet people- we got to meet them as well). Ben came onstage to play with Lisa Prank, and she gave Ben their very own rainbow tiara. It was adorable.

The image says it all.

Then, it was the moment of truth. PWR BTTM was onstage.
"As you can see," Ben said, decked out in blue glitter and greasepaint "I'm not wearing any makeup to the show".
Both members were such good performers, as well as musicians, with their back and forth banter and stories.
My friends and I were super pumped, yelling quips back to their comments. Basically, we were obnoxious and loud. It was great.
"Serenade me!" I yelled at one point.
"I am!!!" Ben shouted back at me.
The bassist, Nicholas (who was not part of the band, but played with them for the show) said, "That's like, the whole thing. You paid us money for us to serenade you."

About halfway through their section of the show, Ben stopped to appreciate a girl's light-up flower crown. I felt a sigh of relief that Ben didn't talk about how obnoxious my group was being. Except that they totally did.
"And to this group in the front, who has been tweeting about the show nonstop."
Called out. Oops.
After the show, Ben and Nicholas came up to our group and thanked us for being so into the show. It was the most amazing thing. ever.

 

And Ben took another selfie with us. With no makeup, clearly.

Ben parted and left us with this final nugget of knowledge:
"You can never tweet too much, and if you ever run out of things to say, jut tweet 'egg'."
Truly iconic.

We got home at 2:30 AM, completely exhausted, and collapsed, still covered in glitter, into bed.
(My pillow looked like a unicorn was massacred in the morning...)

So that was that! I had a really great time with my friends, the music was amazing, and the band members were super nice!

Creep it real y'all!

 

3 (Alternative) Makeup Hacks

1) Every goth probably knows the struggle of fallout- when black eyeshadow falls on your perfect base and having to remove your foundation and concealer underneath.
Ugh!

the struggle is real...

If you don't want to do your base second (which makes no sense to me- but if go ahead if that floats your root beer), I recently discovered a fix for fallout, and it has since pretty much changed my life!

When eyeshadow falls on your cheek, first of all- do NOT try to rub it off or touch it! Rubbing fallout will only smudge it in! Instead, grab a fluffy powder brush and a setting powder, and dip the brush in the powder and just dab at the fallout. The idea behind this is that a powder will attract more powder . Like magic, the eyeshadow should come off your face, and your base should look fresh and new again!


2) No good black lipsticks around- and the ones that are available are a billion dollars!

Kat, I love you, but I'm not paying $21 for lipstick.

 First of all, I recommend TaterRoundsBeauty on Etsy! Some of my favorite lipsticks (the lime green and grey brown, anyone?) are from her shop, and she has a great black lipstick (with red glitter) that comes out to about $7 with shipping. It is also available in a liquid to matte form for a little more money (I swear I'm not sponsored!).

But, if you're too cheap to buy those, you could always grab a cheap black (or any color you want, really) eyeshadow and an old chapstick, and melt them together.

1. First, scrape the eyeshadow out of the pan into a small* microwave safe bowl. The more eyeshadow you add, the more pigmented your lipstick will be.   *a very small bowl is recommended, it's easier to mix and pour the mixture if it's less spread out.
2. Next, screw the chapstick all the way out of the tube, and cut right before the little plastic bit at the bottom. Put the chapstick into the bowl as well.
3. This is where I like to add in a tiny bit of coconut oil or Vaseline for extra hydration, but it's not required.
4. Put the bowl in the microwave in ten-second increments until it is completely melted. Mix the mixture. Be sure to use oven mitts or something when taking the bowl out of the microwave, it will be very hot!
5. Screw the chapstick container down all the way, and carefully pour the mixture into it!
6. Lastly, put the lipstick into the fridge or freezer for 10-15 minutes, and voila! homemade black lipstick for cheap!

3) Doing exaggerated, big eyeliner looks- but they turn out uneven!

the best thing to do is to grab a small flat brush and go in with a grey or black eyeshadow to outline the shape. If one is uneven, you can "erase" it a lot easier than eyeliner!
Then, when you get them perfect, you can go over them with eyeliner!

Go forth with your new knowledge, and creep it real!

Si

Vocabulary: What Is "Punk"?

Punk fashion centers on a DIY ethic, and is generally against consumerism and focuses on individuality.
A lot of punk clothing is hand customized or hand made, which ties in with the individuality and anti-consumerism and DIY ethics of the culture.

The main styles that one thinks of when they hear "punk fashion" is big leather boots, safety pins holding ripped garments together, spikes and studs, flannels, t-shirts, mohawks, shaved heads, piercings, tattoos, and customized leather jackets, jean jackets or vests.

The punk subculture is associated with the fast paced music of punk rock, and centers on anti-authoritarianism, nonconformity, and individualism.

Brief History of Punk

There's some dispute as to when punk really began, some saying mid 60's and others saying mid 70's.
Punk started in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. It was a build-off from the hippie culture of the 1960's- but a darker, more anarchistic version of what the hippies started. Punks rejected the flowing, naturalistic ideology of hippies, but maintained their distaste for "the man", societal norms, and all things mainstream.

The name "Punk" came from exactly where one would think it does- it began as an insult, calling punks worthless, but they turned it around and wore the label with pride.

Affordable Alternative Lipstick?

NYX liquid suede swatches by DepecheGurl on Instagram (one of my personal favorite makeup artists, and not just because we like the same music!) 

NYX liquid suede swatches by DepecheGurl on Instagram

a picture of the lipstick on my lips - apologies for the lighting, application and whatnot. I'm not depechegurl :'^(

Hey, all!

A lighthearted post after a pretty long one!

Today I'm wearing NYX liquid suede lipstick in "Stone Fox", a really nice dark, cool grey tone.

The color is very pigmented and is more hydrating than the average liquid-to-matte lipstick, and the line of lipsticks offers a lot more "alternative" colours such as black, dark purples, and royal blues instead of the normal nudes or pinks.

Check them out if you want a really nice lipstick in fun alternative shades! I picked mine up at Target for $7, and when compared to a Jeffree Star ($18 plus shipping) or Kat Von D ($20), they're about the same color payoff, and more hydrating, but be warned- they're not transfer proof.

Of course, the line does supply "regular" colors, for those of you who don't like vampy or unusual shades.

NYX is cruelty free, but not all products are vegan.
Some are, but it depends on the individual lipstick.

Creep it real, everybody!

Si

Gender and Alternative Dress

Gender is a really hot topic (no pun intended- I swear!) going on in the world right now. With transgender presence being portrayed more and more in television, Hillary Clinton being the first female presidential candidate for the upcoming US election, and transgender bathroom rights being fought for in the supreme court, people all over the world are talking about gender. How does gender relate to alternative dress?

Being nonbinary and being part of the goth subculture, I have a decent amount of experience with gender expression and gender identity in the subculture, but we're going to discuss punk and lolita fashion here as well (just because these were the three I felt were the most accessible for research)! Feel free to correct me if I have something incorrect or left something out, I'm not an expert, just passionate!

PUNK

A punk woman posing

In the punk scene, the whole idea is to reject mainstream and socially accepted ideas, so the concept of gender and gender expression are often toyed with to make others question their views on gender and its expression. In the height of the scene, people would often crossdress or present androgynously, and gender was seen as insignificant in regards to expression. Relevant in the 70's, and perhaps even more so today.

Women in the punk subculture are seen as equal to men, and women historically have this as a way to parody masculinity and toy with societal expectations of what "man" and "woman" truly mean. Women in the punk subculture can be openly and unadulteratedly  feminine, in a way that isn't "soft" or fetishized.

One issue with this expression of femininity was that women were expected to be "shocking" and this often involved women's nudity and sexuality being used to do so. Some believe that this was not progressive or a form of equality, but that this was just another method to objectify women's bodies.

GOTH

Goth & nonbinary Instagram and Youtube user VforVoid

Connected with punk (somewhat), In the goth community, makeup is essentially expected to be worn by people of all genders. Men wear makeup and skirts, as do the women, and the nonbinary people.  The gender boundaries are also blurred as they were in punk, as people in the goth subculture are encouraged to experiment and play with their clothing, hair, and makeup. In my own personal experience, the community as a whole is very accepting of transgender and nonbinary people. I have never viewed any sexism in the goth subculture, and I think this is due to goth originally branching off from the post-punk scene, where men and women were seen as equal.

One "issue" with goth is that femininity is more coveted than masculinity- everyone is expected to be feminine, but it's rarely heard of when a goth woman dresses in a masculine fashion. Men are to be feminine, nonbinary people are to be feminine, and women are often expected to be, perhaps, hyperfeminine.

(I, personally take little issue with this, I feel as though femininity is something that everyone should embrace, despite their gender, but I can see the issues with the expectations and harm in women having to subscribe to traditional gender roles when others are free to play with their expression more. But, I feel as though many women don't feel a pressure to be "feminine" in the goth subculture; it is due to a personal expression and a want to dress in more elaborate dress, rather than being pressured.)

LOLITA

a woman in "princess lolita" fashion

In Lolita fashion the gender roles are more rigid- but the floofy skirts and lace aren't only for girls in Lolita. Men in Lolita oftentimes are crossdressing  and as far as I know, men crossdressing and wearing makeup is accepted in the community.

I haven't seen many male Lolitas online, or at any sort of conventions, which makes me feel as though it's less accessible to men. (But perhaps it's just because I don't personally look at Lolita fashion online very often.)

I feel as though Lolita raises the same problem as goth did involving femininity, but perhaps to an even greater extent. Lolitas are expected to be and act cute and doll-like, common and ideal "feminine" traits, so there is an even greater pressure to conform to gender roles and be hyperfeminine, but again, I feel as though this is an issue of personal taste rather than an issue of being pressured to do something. But, I do feel as though Lolita's expectations for behavior may be harmful to women. (thoughts?)

Due to Lolita's enforcement of traditional gender roles being more so than other subcultures I've looked at, I was concerned that transgender people may be less accepted in the community, so I dug around and did some research. I was pleasantly surprised! I found this article about an older transgender Lolita, and she said that many people in her Lolita group are very accepting! Great!

CONCLUSION

All in all, I feel as though alternative people are more accepting of playing with gender expression and gender roles than "normal" people. Of course, each subculture involves issues, but they are leagues ahead of where mainstream society is with gender expression, equality, and identity.

Thanks for reading, and as always, creep it real!

Si

Fun news!

Abby over at http://inkblot98.blogspot.com/ interviewed me about my style! Check it out!

a picture of Martin Gore smiling
 (I mentioned him in the interview :^) )

Vocabulary: What Is "Goth"?

In short, "Goth" is a style of dress closely intertwined with the musical genre of gothic rock.
Goths are people who dress in all- or mostly- black clothing with lace, fishnets, and dark or unusual makeup.

Goth History lesson:

"Goth" is a word that came from a Germanic tribe known under the same name (the Goths). Later on, "gothic" was a word used to apply to medieval style architecture, and then to literature in the late 18th century to early 19th century that usually involved death, mysticism, and the supernatural.

Goth, as a subculture, began in the late 1970's to early 1980's as a branch off from the post-punk genre.

Due to the style of goth being so closely tied to the musical genre of gothic rock, often singers for bands were the fashion icons of goth culture.
A handful of these early fashion influencers include Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Robert Smith of The Cure, & Patricia Morrison of The Sisters of Mercy.




Siouxsie Sioux

Patricia Morrison



Robert Smith

Special mention awards for goth fashion icons include Peter Murphy of the band Bauhaus, Bela Lugosi as Dracula in the 1931 film, the characters Morticia Addams (The Addams Family), Elvira (Elvira, Mistress of the Dark), and Lydia Deetz (Beetlejuice).

 Goth has branched off quite a bit since the 70's. There are now "substyles" of goth that that include "romantic goth" (more Victorian inspired) and "batcave goth" (closer to what earlier, punkier, goth dress was).
(more 70's and 80's inspired)
The video Below by Liisa Ladouceur, author of Encyclopedia Gothica, provides a good, brief overview of how the style of goth has evolved and branched off since the 1970's.

Vocabulary: What IS alternative fashion?

Alternative fashion, in short, is a style of that is unique or abnormal as compared to mainstream "commercial" fashion.

Alternative fashion is usually seen as "edgy" or "dark", but for this blog's purposes I will be including more light and bubbly "unusual" fashions (such as sweet lolita or visual kei).

It can include, but is certainly not limited to:

• Goth
• Punk
• Lolita
• Scene
• Emo
• Steampunk
• Cybergoth

Alternative fashion usually, but not always, goes hand in hand with specific musical genres.
        ex: those in the goth subculture are usually listeners to goth rock.

Unstitched Overview

All over the world, there are different fashions that are accepted as normal. But, in these places there are the people who push those boundaries and dress outside of the societally accepted norms. Goths with their teased hair, decked out in all black, punks with their spikes, combat boots, and leather jackets, lolitas with their lavish dresses and Victorian clothing, visual kei with its elaborate makeup, hair, and outfits, and many more.
What makes this clothing boundary breaking?
And how is it culturally relevant?
How have and these fashion styles affect history? And why?

Stay tuned to find the answers and learn more about alternative fashion!